Wipe phone & reinstall apps/data...?

esuhl

I have a Samsung Galaxy SII phone running Android v4.1.2. It's my first smartphone (a hand-me-down) so I'd installed (and now removed) loads of system-tweaking apps, but now it isn't performing quite as it should.

The filesystem contains lots of files relating to software that has been removed, so it looks like there's a lot of junk, and I suspect getting rid of everything and starting again with a "clean" phone would be a good idea.

So, I'd like to completely wipe it and restore it to its initial state. Is that possible?

Will this remove every remnant of any uninstalled apps and restore any system files that have been modified? In other words, is the effect equivalent to formatting a drive and reinstalling the OS? Will the filesystem contents of the phone be in an identical state to when it came out of the factory?

I've backed up the contact list and files. But is it possible to backup my apps so they can all be reinstalled later? And what about app data? I guess it's not a big deal, but I have a few games where I'd like to save my progress. Is it possible to only back up certain app data, so other apps get reinstalled in a clean state?

I'm fairly techie when it comes to PCs, but (as you can tell!) I know nothing about phones.

Any help or tips would be really appreciated!

DigForVictory

Can only speak for an iphone, but scrubbed down to factory settings after a backup, I could reinstall the backup (and any faults it may have had) or reinstall the apps individually.
It did speed things along just wiping & restoring.
Best of luck!

pappa_golf

a factory reset will set it to be the same as it left the factory , however as you sign into google , playstore will reload your apps , uninstall any apps you do not want before resetting

DoaM

As above, uninstall any unnecessary apps before doing a factory reset. (Lots of guides online on how to do this). The apps you require will reinstall as you login to your Google account and setup the phone again.

If you wish (before the factory reset), you could also open the Play store app on your phone and scroll through and delete from the list any apps you have uninstalled. (They should appear with an X next to them). This should remove any remote possibility of such apps getting reinstalled accidentally.

JJ_Egan

A factory reset will restore to the last firmware that was installed . That may not be as it left the factory if the phone has received any updates since purchase ..

Backing up apps data will require you to Root the phone and install something like Titanium Backup .You can back up data and apps it also allows freeze of unwanted apps .

pappa_golf

negative , a reset will reset it to the firmware that was originally installed THEN the op will download the makers updates


the manufacturers updates are not loaded into the recovery file , they are loaded onto the fully expanded operating sys ,


when you reload , the first thing it does is update google playstore to latest version ,

JJ_Egan

You or the OP can check current firmware and see if a factory reset restores to older as delivered firmware if you want .

esuhl

Great -- thanks, all. The only app I want to restore with data has it's own "account" (listed alongside the Google account), so I guess that means it stores data on a server and will restore it.

Firmware isn't a big deal. I'm sure I can update that again later if needs be.

So I'm all set to hit the big red button! Thanks again!

JJ_Egan

Samsung has two update paths OTA over the air or via Kies windows program .

pappa_golf

kies is dead , updated to a new proggy now